If you have already identified a specific PhD project offered by a faculty member of GGNB, you are welcome to contact the prospective thesis supervisor directly and apply for a PhD thesis under her/his supervision. This route of application is independent of application deadlines but please note that you may only apply to GGNB before or up to three months after starting your thesis. Faculty members receiving personal applications by students whose qualifications are uncertain are encouraged to refer these applicants to the GGNB Office (see “Route 1”).

To be accepted by a doctoral program of GGNB, all candidates have to give a short presentation of their past research projects before the admission board.

Once you have received confirmation by a faculty member of GGNB that she/he is interested in taking you up as a PhD student in her/his research group, we recommend that you follow the step-by-step guideline indicated below:

Step 1: Thesis title and thesis committee. Discuss the title of your PhD thesis and possible members of your thesis committee with your prospective supervisor. Your thesis committee will consist of your supervisor and two additional members. All members work independent of each other (i.e. not in the same department or research group) and have expertise in scientific topics related to your thesis. At least two of the three members of your thesis committee must hold the position of a full faculty member in the GGNB program to which you are admitted. One of the members can be an associate member of GGNB or an external senior scientist.

Step 2: Online application. Enter your personal data, information regarding your academic background, motivation etc., and indicate two referees who can be contacted for further references. In addition, indicate the name of your prospective supervisor, the title of the proposed PhD thesis, and your suggestions for the three members of your thesis committee. Also indicate whether funding has already been secured for the proposed thesis (this is not a requirement for admission).

Step 3: Submit the application package (cover sheet available on the GGNB website, transcripts, diploma, photograph, optionally: copies of GRE or English proficiency score reports) in hardcopy to the GGNB office. As you apply for a specific PhD project, your application package should be accompanied by an informal letter of support by your prospective PhD supervisor in which she/he confirms the proposed thesis title and suggestions for the additional member of your thesis committee. Your supervisor’s statement should also include information on which basis she/he can recommend your admission to GGNB.

Step 4: Presentation before admission panel. The GGNB office will check the fulfilment of all formal requirements for admission (see below). It will then forward your application to the chairperson of the responsible program committee and will inform you about the schedule of the next admission panel. For applicants from abroad, the prospective supervisor can apply at the GGNB office for travel grants to financially support interviews in Göttingen. The GGNB office also assists in the arrangements of video-based interviews on request, which may be done as a pre-screening before the actual presentation before the admission panel in Göttingen.

Step 5: Report of admission panel results. After the panel presentation, the panel members submit their decision to the program committee and the GGNB office, in which they recommend admission or rejection of the applicant.

Step 6: Admission. Decisions on admission are made by the program committee on three conditions: (i) confirmation by interviewers that the candidate meets or exceeds the qualification requirements (recommendation for admission), (ii) confirmation by a faculty member of GGNB to accept the student for a PhD thesis in her/his department or research group, and (iii) secured funding of the student during the PhD thesis (e.g. departmental funding or stipends offered by GGNB).

Step 7: Finalizing the PhD project. Upon admission to GGNB, the program committee approves the thesis project and the members of the thesis committee, and issues the admission documents required for enrolment (matriculation) at the University of Göttingen.

Step 8: Enrolment (Matriculation). All students of GGNB have to be enrolled at the University of Göttingen throughout the entire PhD thesis project. Details about enrolment are summarized on the website of GGNB (see right column).